Thatto survive late comeback to grab away win

Thatto Heath Crusaders survived a late comeback to seal a 32-26 away win against Egremont Rangers at Gillfoot Park.

A first half double from Niall Allen either side of Louis Taylor’s try had the away side in a comfortable position and set for the victory.

However, a stunning final ten minutes saw Egremont score three times as they threatened to steal the two points.

Simple mistakes from Egremont allowed Thatto to run the score up enough to survive as they continue their charge for top spot.

Thatto were in a punishing mood from the start, their first try coming off the back of a knock on by Egremont in their own half.

The promising combination of Corey Lee and Allen continuing as the centre gave his winger the room to stroll over for the opener.

Despite hitting back through Pat Wells, Egremont would find themselves down 14-8 at the break. Louis Taylor pouncing on a knock on to put down before Allen grabbed his second.

After the break Thatto switched up a gear and launched devastating long distance breaks, slicing through the defence to race out to an unattainable lead.

Corey Lee would again be the provider as he traded passes with Jamie Tracey who finished off a 50m break away from fullback Dan Birkett.

The introduction of man of the match, Sean Kenny spun the game in Thatto’s favour. Numerous breaks from dummy half had the Egremont defenders chasing the game.

Dan Birkett and Chris Frodsham found themselves to be the next beneficiaries of the lighting attack, taking Thatto’s lead out to 32-8.

Even though the returning Anthony Bate would be sent to the sin bin for dissent, the effect seemed to be minimal, until the final few minutes came.

Reduced in numbers the Thatto defence would struggle to cope with the unrelenting running of the Egremont forwards, Tom Horner crossing twice either side of Kieran Glenn making for a tense few minutes.

Two minutes remained on the clock as Egremont crossed to make it 32-26, yet much like last week Thatto would soak up when the pressure was on and come out on top.

With just three fixtures remaining in the regular season, Thatto looked to have recovered from their mid-season slip at the right time. Mixing scintillating attack whilst showing their defence can be impenetrable.

After a short break Thatto’s next game is against local rivals Pilkington Recs.